Sometimes life doesn’t go as planned and our dreams don’t unfold in the rigid timeline we set. We get frustrated, sad even, thinking that maybe it’s not meant to be or it’s something we don’t deserve. Yet if we could peek into our future we would see that things are coming, and when they do, it will be at just the right time – not sooner.

Before I get to the tips, I want to preface this by saying just how much I love and enjoy motherhood. When Joshua, my oldest, was born and at only 20 years-old I was scared, but in that cool December morning I was on top of the world. Nothing compares to the feeling a first time mom experiences when her baby arrives.

To say that I love newborns is an understatement. These sleepy little souls with tiny wrinkles are perfection and the true meaning and purpose of life. I sometimes find myself in a wave of sadness just thinking that my little babies will one day leave the nest. These thoughts are what help me get better at being present and remind me to capture the little glimpses of personalities that we see along the way.

I record my memories in albums and every time I opened them, they fill me with joy and bring me back to that very moment. This is why I do what I do, because I want you to remember this time in your life and reminisce just as I do when I open the pages and travel back in time.

So now that I’m done with my ranting; I want to give you some tips for a successful newborn session. This will be an ongoing series on the blog; for now, I will start with the first two:

THE EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM. Book your session early! I’m not saying this for my benefit or the benefit of your photographer, even though I would love to have you as a client, I’m saying this because photographers get booked in advance and most newborn sessions occur during the first two weeks of the baby’s life. This leaves very little time for a photographer that is already booked to schedule you in. If your session was previous scheduled with a tentative date, the photographer is aware and knows the amount of sessions they can schedule around your due date.

THE EARLIER THE BETTER. If possible, schedule your session when your baby is between 3-7 days old. This time is when they are the sleepiest and stay curled up just as they were in the womb. After around two weeks, they start stretching and the curl pose that came natural to them starts to change

That’s it for now – can’t wait to share more. Next week I’ll be talking about natural light, outdoor sessions, and bringing on the heat…

I love maternity photography sessions period, but add the beach as a background and a mommy-to-be willing to go in the water and I’m in heaven. There is a feeling of being connected to nature when you are surrounded by sand and water that has no comparison. I loved every minute of this maternity session.

This is another common question I get because most moms wait to have their baby before booking a newborn session. But, just like you would book a wedding photographer way ahead of time, it is a good idea to book your newborn photographer while you are still pregnant.

Now, there are many different styles of newborn photography and other photographers might not mind the age of the baby, so you would need to know your style preference and what best fits your family.

Our style at The Crunchy Nest is simple and we try to stay away from the overuse of props because we prefer a more organic look; however, we still pose our newborns. We change the baby’s hand placement, turn their little face, change their position, etc. in order to get a variety of picture for you. Therefore, we prefer our newborn sessions to take place during the baby’s first two weeks of life. 5-7 days is ideal!

Why?

When babies are brand new, they position themselves in the way they were in the womb and they sleep all the time! As time passes, babies stretch out and are more alert, which makes it more difficult to keep them asleep and pose them. The older the baby, the more aware they are of their surroundings.

But what date do you pick?

Well, because we know that due dates are not set in stone – I wish they were (being a mom of three), when you book your newborn session while expecting, We will pencil in a date approximately one week after your due date. Once your baby arrives, you give us a call and let us know. We will then move our schedule around to accommodate the best time to hold your session.

Booking your session before-hand guarantees your spot once your baby has arrived and your session will take priority over new inquiries around the same time.

So what are you waiting for? If you are currently expecting, book your session today.

[Big Disclaimer: I am in no way, shape, or form telling you that this is what you should do for your baby. This was a decision I made for my baby after many hours of research. Please make sure you do your own research before determining what is right for you and your baby]

I wrote in this post about my breastfeeding struggles and because of it I had to find an alternative way to feed my baby. Not only did I have to find the safest bottles, but also the safest formula.

When it came to bottles, I knew that we would be warming up formula, so plastic bottles weren’t an option. We decided on the Avent Natural glass bottle, and as he grew older and wanted to hold his own bottle, we bought the Pura Kiki Stainless Steel Bottle. These are the bottles that we still use today and he loves them!

The next struggle came when it was time to choose a formula. I started to supplement Gavin’s feeding since early on. He was only a few days old and already drinking Enfamil. I knew before I gave birth to him that I did not want to give my child commercial grade formula. My plan was to breastfeed and when I didn’t succeed, I was left at the last minute to do tons of research to find something that I felt good about feeding my child.

Now, to be honest, I fed both my daughter and my oldest son formula without thinking anything of it. As I got older and I learned more, I wanted a better option.

Gavin was not like my other children. He dreaded sleep, yet he wasn’t (that I know of) a colicky baby but he was crying as if he was in pain often. I did then what most mothers would do and hit google to find out why. I thought that he fit the description of possibly being lactose intolerant. Although he did not have diarrhea, he did seem to have gas, was very irritable, and was developing little red spots all over his face. So we switched to Baby’s Only Lactose Relief organic formula and he was doing well on it for about two weeks and then got constipated, really constipated, and the rashes that he had got dry and scab-like. At the pediatrician’s recommendation we switched formula brands again to see if this would solve the problem with no luck. I was at my wit’s end because I knew I had to switch formula again and this time the only other formula that the doctors were recommending was soy based and I refuse to give my baby boy soy.

So I went on a quest to find a solution when I came across this post and it changed my baby. The more research I did about homemade goat milk formula the more I started to think that this was the best option for us. I purchased Mt. Capra Goat Milk powder along with all the other ingredients. See recipe here. And I started making daily batches.

Was I scared? Yes! I was. I was scared that I wasn’t following my pediatrician’s advice; I was scared because this was not the norm. But guess what? Gavin thrived on it. His constipation went away, his faced cleared up, and he was a much happier baby. I still don’t know what in the cow milk was causing him problems back them as his formula recipe included lactose, and now at 16 months he drinks full fat organic cow milk, but I now know that I made the right choice for him then. It was a hassle making formula daily, which meant warming up the formula under hot water before every feeding, but I would do it all over in a heartbeat.

What do I recommend? Do your research, educate yourself, seek professional advice, and then make the right decision for you.